Trump Disses Jolie's Beauty, Clooney's Size

If, as Keats said, beauty is truth and truth beauty, is Donald Trump a big fat liar? Could be, based on the newest object of his ire, the empirically attractive Angelina Jolie.

"Angelina Jolie is sort of amazing because everyone thinks she's like this great beauty," the self-promotion-addicted tycoon told Larry King earlier this week while shilling his new book, which shall remain nameless so as not to help the boorish. "And I'm not saying she's an unattractive woman, but she's not [a] beauty, by any stretch of the imagination."

And just in case you're wondering how the Donald, a man who wears a bedraggled muskrat on his head and calls it a comb-over, is able to judge someone else's comeliness, just let him explain.

"I really understand beauty," he swaggers. "And I will tell you, she's not -- I do own Miss Universe. I do own Miss USA. I mean, I own a lot of different things. I do understand beauty, and she's not."

Sure, some might take issue with Trump comparing the sash-wearing, swimsuit-competing contestants in his cheese-tastic pageants to Brad Pitt's more glamorous half, but perhaps if he repeats himself enough, it'll start to sound true.

"And now she's like this great beauty who is representing world peace and the United Nations.

It's called give me a break," gripes Melania's less pouty and squinty half. "But she's not -- in terms of beauty -- she's not a great beauty. She's a nice looking woman. She's OK. But she's not a great beauty."

Or hey, maybe if he brings up that long-ago lip-lock Jolie infamously shared on Oscar night with brother James Haven, that'll help prove his point.

"And I remember at the Academy Awards a few years ago she was Frenching her brother. She was giving her brother lip kisses like I never saw before in my life," he rambles. "And she had just said she made love to Billy Bob Thornton in the back of the limousine on the way over. And I wouldn't want to shake her hand, by the way."

Continues the apparent germ-phobe, "And now she's representing the United Nations and world peace. I don't get it."

Not that he's unimpressed with what Angelina has accomplished, image-wise.

"Oh, by the way, she's done an amazing transformation. I give her credit," he allows. "If you would have had the things and done the things that she did, and to be this representative of women and the world, is incredible. So I give her great credit. She's done one of the great transformations I've ever seen."

While it's a good bet Jolie will give as much thought to these ungentlemanly comments as she does to one of Shiloh's poopy diapers, the onetime Sexiest Woman Alive isn't alone in the Donald's dissing.

Also failing to meet his expectations: reigning (and two-time) Sexiest Man Alive George Clooney, whom he's met exactly once.

"The perception of George Clooney is he's a big, strong handsome guy," says Trump. "And he was very little when I met him. It's OK. Nothing wrong with it. He's doing just fine."

And even though size really (really) doesn't matter when it comes to comparing Clooney to Trump, for the record, the debonair, salt-and-pepper-topped megastar is only about three inches shorter than the mouthy, 6-foot-2 mogul.

Trump's show may salvage Britney, Paris, and Lindsay's image

Entertainment mogul Donald Trump is in talks with Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan for an appearance on his upcoming television program ‘Celebrity Apprentice’.

His aim behind this offer is to help the three beleaguered celebrities save their image.

Trump strongly feels that Britney needs more than the reality show that she did to save her image, and claims that his show can tender her the requisite help.

The Miss Universe pageant boss also believes that the pop diva likes the idea of to being on TV.

"We're negotiating with Britney right now. Can you imagine her doing it? We're not sure what will happen. She's a [bleep]ing mess. And that little reality show she had did nothing. But she likes the idea of being on television and I think she'd be great,” the New York Post quoted Trump, as saying.

However, Trump is not very sure about Hilton’s appearance on the show.

“(Hilton) wants to be on, and we're thinking about it, but I don't know if we're going to do it," he adds.

Although Trump admitted that he had not contacted Lohan to date, he insisted that his show could prove beneficial to her.

"Another [bleep]ing mess. We haven't asked her yet, but I'm going to call her this week. It would a positive thing for her to do . . . for all of them," he says.

Big dustup on 'The View' between Rosie and Elisabeth

Watching Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck squabble on ABC's "The View" is nothing new, but Wednesday's dustup seemed particularly nasty with the co-hosts trading accusations and personal digs.

A political discussion over the war in Iraq became heated when an angry O'Donnell decried Hasselbeck for not standing up for her when media outlets suggested that she'd called U.S. troops "terrorists" during a previous debate.

"What you did was not defend me. ... I asked you if you believed what the Republican pundits were saying - you said nothing, and that's cowardly," O'Donnell said.Responded a stern Hasselbeck: "Do not call me a coward, because No. 1, I sit here every single day, open my heart and tell people what I believe."

O'Donnell and Hasselbeck were shown on a split screen as the argument progressed without commercial interruption.

"Do you believe that I think our troops are terrorists? And you would not even look me in the face, Elisabeth, and say, `No, Rosie,"' O'Donnell said.Responded Hasselbeck: "Because you are an adult, and I am certainly not going to be the person for you to explain your thoughts. They're your thoughts! Defend your own insinuations!"O'Donnell, who is leaving the ABC daytime talk show next month, said she wasn't going to fight anymore. "So for three weeks, you can say all the Republican crap you want."

Hasselbeck discussed the war of words in an interview with syndicated entertainment show "Extra" that was to air Wednesday evening."

I honestly think, I believe that we are mature women who can resolve," she said. "I hope we can. I would hope that a disagreement or a heated debate wouldn't be the end of a relationship.

"In a posting on her blog, O'Donnell wrote: "a split screen, new heights, or lows, depending on who u ask."

‘You can’t fire me, I quit,’ says Trump to NBC

Network left the low-rated ‘Apprentice’ off its fall schedule

Donald Trump, whose low-rated reality show “The Apprentice” was left off the new prime-time schedule unveiled this week by NBC, says the network can’t fire him — he quits.

The real estate mogul issued a statement on Friday saying he has informed the U.S. television network he is “moving on from ‘The Apprentice’ to a major new TV venture,” though he declined to elaborate.

There was no immediate comment from NBC.

But his announcement appeared to end any lingering doubt that “The Apprentice,” which turned the self-styled tycoon into a television star and popularized the catch phrase, “You’re fired,” would be banished from NBC’s airwaves next season.

The corporate-themed reality show, which aired in dozens of countries around the world, featured young, aggressive entrepreneurs in a weekly game of elimination as they competed for a real-life job in Trump’s business empire.

“The Apprentice” debuted as a hit in 2004, averaging nearly 21 million viewers and ranking as the top-rated new TV show its first season. But the series dropped steadily in the ratings in successive years, losing nearly two-thirds of its original audience by the time it wrapped up its sixth installment last month.

The show’s future was cast into further doubt on Monday when the network announced a 2007-08 programming lineup that made no mention of Trump. But NBC executives refused then to absolutely rule out a reprieve once rival networks ABC, CBS and Fox had laid out their schedules for next season.

The statement from Trump’s organization seemed to spell a definitive end to the series.

“It looks like viewers will have to wait to see what Mr. Trump plans for the future,” the statement said. “But if Mr. Trump’s past TV success is any indication of the future, then one can anticipate that millions of ‘Apprentice’ fans will be migrating to his new venture.”

Trump and NBC still remain in the beauty pageant business together. The two announced in March a renewed deal to keep annual broadcasts of the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, which Trump co-owns, on the General Electric Co.-controlled network through 2010.

Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited.